Wrapping paper dispenser and printer



Oct. 4, 1955 w. w. SELLEY ET AL WRAPPING PAPER DISPENSER AND PRINTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 5, 1953 INVENTOR5 WILLIAM W. SELLEV 8c JOHN J. CONNOLLV ATTDRNEY Oct. 4, 1955 w. w. SELLEY ET AL 2,719,482

WRAPPING PAPER DISPENSER AND PRINTER Filed Nov. 5, 1953- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS' WILL/AM W. SELLEY 8: JOHN J. CONNOLLY ATTORNEY United States Patent WRAPPING PAPER DISPENSER AND PRINTER William W. Selley, Brooklyn, and John J. Connolly, Pelham, N. Y.; said Selley assignor to said Connolly Application November 3, 1953, Serial No. 390,019

13 Claims. (Cl. 101227) This invention relates to a wrapping paper dispenser. It more particularly relates to a device which will discharge a predetermined length of wrapping paper from a roll, preferably automatically and simultaneously print indicia thereon.

Devices are known which may be attached to conventional wrapping paper dispensing rolls which will print indicia on the wrapping paper as the same is discharged. These devices conventionally consist of a printing roller having an inking mechanism which is attached to the conventional wrapping paper roll dispenser so that the printing roller is resiliently pressed against the roll of wrapping paper. As the wrapping paper is pulled out in the conventional manner, the inking roller rotates in contact therewith and prints the indicia on the paper being discharged.

These conventional devices have many drawbacks. Since the roll of wrapping paper constitutes the backing for the printing any imperfections in the roll, such as ridges, indentations, etc., will prevent a neat and accurate printing. This was particularly noticeable in coreless paper rolls and paper rolls which have received indentations, etc., in handling. Further, as the roll was dispensed, the diameter of the printing backing would naturally decrease detrimentally affecting the printing operation. A further drawback of the conventional resided in the fact that the printing was efiected on the top of the paper as it was discharged which necessitated the reversing of the discharged sheet by the operator for wrapping.

The printing operation on a sheet of wrapping paper as it is discharged is a very exacting operation with respect to the amount of ink, etc., deposited on the paper since the same must practically dry immediately so that it will not be smudged during the wrapping, etc. None of the conventional devices of this type provided an inking mechanism for the printing roller which would execute this function in a completely satisfactory manner.

One object of this invention is a device which may be used to discharge a predetermined length of wrapping paper from a roll and simultaneously print indicia thereon without any of the above mentioned disadvantages.

A further object of this invention is a device which will automatically discharge a predetermined length of paper from a roll and simultaneously print indicia thereon.

A still further object of this invention is a device which will automatically discharge, print indicia and cut off for the operator, in a position ready for wrapping, a predetermined length of paper from a roll of wrapping paper. These and still further objects will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of an embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention with the casing side removed;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the arrangement of the various rollers, etc., of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the printing mechanism of the device shown in Fig. 1;

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Fig. 4 shows a side elevation of the device shown in Fig, 1 with the side casing in place; and

Fig. 5 shows a detailed perspective view of an embodiment of an automatic cutting mechanism and drive means therefor.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. It is, however, understood that the invention is not limited thereto and includes variations and modifications within the spirit of the invention and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to a drawing and in particular, Figs. 1 through 4, the main support for the device consists of the leftand, right-hand housing sides 3a and 3b respectively which may, for example, be in the form of castings. The conventional roll of wrapping paper 2 is supported by the conical end plugs 1 which are rotatably supported in the housing, as for example, by means of ball bearings. Also connected to the housing are the tie or guide rod 7, the pressure roller 4- and the ink reservoir or fountain unit 8.

The tie or guide rod '7 is rigidly supported by the housing sides 3a and 3b. The pressure roller 4 is mounted on roller shaft 4a which in turn is freely rotatably supported by the housing sides.

The ink reservoir or fountain 8 may consist, for example, of an integral stamping or casting. Positioned within the ink reservoir is the ink or fountain roller 6. This fountain roller is rotatably mounted on the roller shaft 6a which rotatably extends through the side walls of the ink reservoir. The ink roller shaft 6a is rotatably supported by the side housing walls 3a and 3b and thus the ink roller 6 and the entire ink reservoir 8 are solely supported in the housing by the shaft 60. The ink roller 6 may freely rotate with this shaft and the ink reservoir 8 may pivot about the shaft. A printing roller 5 is rotatably mounted by its shaft 5a in the upper portion of the ink reservoir 8. Neither the printing roller 5 nor its shaft 5a is directly connected to the housing. The printing roller 5 is positioned in contact with the ink or fountain roller 6. An arm 10 is pivotably connected to the ink reservoir 8 and pivots around the same axis as the shaft 5a. An identical arm is provided on the opposite side of the ink reservoir. A shaft 11a is rotatably supported by the ends of these arms 10. Attached to each end of the shaft 11a is a paper drive roller 11. The arms 1t are urged upwardly by a spring (not shown) so that the same will pivot about St: until the paper drive rollers 11 are pressed in frictional contact with the paper roll 2.

The shaft 11a, the paper drive rollers 11, the arms 10, the printing roller 5 and the shaft 5a, the ink or fountain roller 6 and the ink reservoir 8, thus constitute a single unit which is solely mounted in the housing on the shaft 6a.

The distance between the periphery of the printing roller 5 and the center of the shaft 6a is slightly greater than the distance between the center of the shaft 6a and the periphery of the pressure roller 4. Springs 12 constantly urge the ink reservoir 8 and its connected parts to pivot forward about the axis 6a. In this manner, the printing roller 5 is always pressed in contact with the pressure roller 4 with a constant force.

Gears 13, 14 and 15 in mesh with each other are connected to the shafts 4a, 5a, 6a, respectively. These gears are so dimensioned that the peripheral speeds of the rollers 4, 5 and 6 as they rotate will be equal to each other. The roller shaft 11a is connected for rotation with the roller shaft 5a by means of the endless drive belt 10. The diameter of the shaft 11a and 50 respectively in contact with the endless belt 10 are so dimensioned that the paper drive rollers 11 will rotate at the same peripheral speed as the rollers 4, 5 and 6. In this man- 'ner, all of the rotating parts on the device, including the paper roll 2, will rotate in synchronization during operation.

The pressure, printing and ink roller may be of any conventional construction. Thus, for example, the ink roller 6 may be a steel roller with a soft smooth rubber coating. The printing roller has mounted thereon a conventional soft rubber printing pad. Interruptions in the printing pad are compensated for and smooth rotating operation is insured by two rubber tires 16 and 17 mounted at each end of the printing roller. The ink roller 6 will not contact these rubber tires 16 and 17 since they extend past the length of the ink roller. The tires 16 and 17 and the pressure roller 4 will always be in frictional contact with opposite sides of paper passing therebetween and the tires will not be inked and thus will not mark the paper.

The ink reservoir or fountain 8 may be filled by means of the filler assembly 9 with ink up to, for example, the level of the shaft 6a. The ink roller 6 will thus revolve half submerged in ink. A wiper blade 18, as, for example, of the type of an ordinary automobile windshield wiper is positioned at the forward lip of the ink resevoir 8 in contact with the ink roller 6. As the ink roller rotates, it continually picks up an excess of ink which is wiped off by the wiper blade 18. The moist roller with the excess ink removed then contacts the printing pad of the printing roller 5 and inks the same. As shown in Fig. 1, the ink roller 6 will rotate counterclockwise, printing roller 5 clockwise, the pressure roller 4 counterclockwise, the paper drive rollers 11 clockwise and the paper roll 2 counterclockwise.

The top and front of the device between the two housing sides 3a and 3b may be covered, as, for example with sheet metal for decorative purposes and to simultaneously serve as a guide for the paper in both the initial threading and in operation.

The paper from the paper roll 2 after the point of contact with the paper drive rollers 11 is passed over the tie rod 7 down between the pressure roller 4 and the printing roller 5 and out over the top of the housing portion 19. A space or slot is provided between the top housing portion 20 and housing portion 19 through which the paper passes.

Secured to the upper housing portion 20, and running along the upper portion of this slot is the cutter knife or bar 21. A sheet of paper discharged from the machine may be torn off against this cutter bar or knife.

Though the sheet of paper may be manually pulled through the device and the frictional contact thereof with the various rollers will cause rotation and actuation of the device it is contemplated within the scope of the invention to provide an automatic drive and thus, the automatic discharge and printing of the paper by the device at high speed is possible.

This automatic drive may constitute the electric motor 22 with the worm 23 at the end of its drive shaft (Figs. 3 and 4). The pressure roller shaft 4a has connected at its end for rotation therewith the worm gear 24. The motor 22 is so connected to the housing side 3b that the worm 23 meshes with the worm gear 24. Rotation of the motor will, therefore, cause rotation of the pressure roller 4 and simultaneous and synchronous rotation of all the other rotatable parts including the printing roller 4, the ink roller 6, the paper drive rollers 11 and the paper roll 12.

A simple switch may be provided for the motor 2 so the operator may feed out and print the desired length of wrapping paper from the roll 2 by merely hand operating the switch and running the motor until the desired length of paper has been fed out and printed. The motor may then be stopped by releasing the switch and this length of paper torn off by ripping the same against the cutter bar or knife 21.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a time switch is provided for the motor 22 which will upon each actuation thereof run the motor 22 for a length of time calculated to feed out a predetermined length of paper. This time switch may be of any conventional construction. In the embodiment shown (Fig. 4), the time switch 25 is in the form of a finger dial. The switch is set so that one of a multiple number of predetermined running times may be dialed. These times are calculated to feed out predetermined lengths of paper and the dial is marked in these lengths of paper so that in operation the operator merely dials the length of paper which he wishes fed out and the machine will automatically feed out this length of paper and stop. The time switch may also be so arranged that it may be set for a predetermined operational time and after this setting upon each actuation of the button 26 will operate for this time period and thus automatically feed out the length of paper for which it has been set.

Since the construction of these time switches is well known and any such switch may be used the constructional details thereof are not included herein.

In accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the invention, means are provided which will automatically cut the paper when desired. An embodiment of such means may be seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and a detailed view thereof in Fig. 5.

A threaded spindle 27 is rotatably positioned in the housing just below and in back of the cutter bar 21. A bug 28 with internal threads is positioned on the spindle 27 so that as the spindle is rotated the bug will be screwed back and forth across the spindle depending upon the direction of rotation. The bottom of the bug has a member 32a with a bore through which extends a stationary bar 33a which is rigidly mounted in the housing. This bar in cooperation with a portion 32 prevents rotation of the bug 28 as the spindle 27 rotates and causes the spindle to be screwed through the bug thus causing the bug to move back and forth. Clamped into the bug 28 is a blade 29 such as an ordinary doubled edged razor blade. The blade 29 extends above the normal position of the paper as it passes out of the device and its upper portion may ride in a slot 33 defined in the upper housing portion 20. Connected at one end of the threaded spindle 27 is the bevel gear 30. Motor 31 with a bevel gear 32 is mounted on the housing so that the bevel gear 32 meshes with the bevel gear 30 and the rotation of the motor will cause rotation of the threaded spindle 27 and the movement of the bug and razor across the spindle. The motor 31 is operated through a conventional reversing and time switch 34 which upon each actuation will reverse the direction of rotation of the motor 31 and run the motor for a period of time or number of rotations calculated for the complete movement of bug 28 from one side across to the other side of the spindle 27. Thus, upon each actuation of the switch 34, the motor will operate in a direction and for the number of rotations calculated to rapidly move the bug 28 completely across the spindle. Upon each motion of the bug 28 across the spindle, the blade 29 will cut the paper across its width.

The switch 34 may be constructed so that it may be manually operated or so that it will automatically be actuated when the time switch 25 stops the motor 22. In this manner, whenever the motor 22 has completed actuation of a device to feed out and print a predetermined length of paper, the motor 31 will automatically be ac tuated and this length of paper will automatically be cut.

The exact construction and arrangement of these time switches to accomplish this function will, of course, be obvious to the skilled artisan from the above description.

In operation, a roll of paper 2 is placed on the plugs 1 and positioned in the housing. The paper is then threaded under the paper drive rollers 11, over the tie rod 7 down between the rollers 4 and 5 and out of the housing under the cutter bar 21. Ink is placed in the ink reservoir or fountain 8 through the filler assembly 9 so that the 'roller 6 will be about half emersed in the bath of ink.

For manual operation and automatic feed, the operator merely presses the button 26 and actuates the motor 22 thus operating the device and feeding out and printing the paper. When the desired length of paper has been let out the operator merely releases the button 26 and tears the paper oif against the cutter bar 21. Alternately, if the automatic cutting device is used the operator may merely press the switch 34 to operate the automatic cutter. It is also possible, of course, to have the switch 34 so set up that when the switch 26 is released and the motor 22 stops, the motor 31 and thus the automatic cutter will automatically operate.

For automatic operation, the operator merely dials the desired length of paper which he wishes fed on the dial 25 and the motor 22 is automatically actuated for a period of time calculated to feed out this length of paper. When this length of paper has been fed out and the device stopped, the operator may tear the paper off against the cutter bar 21 or if the automatic cutter is provided, the same will automatically be cut off as the stopping of the motor 22 or the time switch 25 actuates the time switch 34.

Due to the positioning of the printing and pressure rollers, the paper is printed on its bottom and is fed in the exact position for wrapping with no reversing, etc., being necessary.

The printing roller 5 may print any desired message, advertisement, firm name, etc., on the Wrapping.

We claim:

1. Device for dispensing and printing wrapping paper which comprises a support, paper roll supporting means rotatably positioned in said support, a pressure roller rotatably mounted in said support substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said paper roll supporting means, an ink reservoir, an ink roller rotatably mounted in said reservoir, a printing roller rotatably mounted on said reservoir above in surface contact with said ink roller, said ink reservoir being pivotably mounted in said support for pivoting about the axis of rotation of said ink roller to move said printing roller in and out of contact with said pressure roller, said printing roller and said ink roller being positioned substantially parallel to said pressure roller, means resiliently urging said ink reservoir to pivot with said printing roller in contact with said pressure roller, a substantially stationary wiper in contact with said ink roller for wiping excess ink from the surface thereof prior to contact with said printing roller and means for rotating said rollers at the same peripheral speed.

2. Device according to claim 1 includuing paper cutting means mounted on said support in front of said printing and pressure rollers.

3. Device according to claim 1 including at least one paper drive roller movably positioned between a position substantially adjacent the axis of rotation of said paper roll supporting means and a position in spaced relationship thereto, means for resiliently urging said paper drive roller toward said axis of rotation of said paper roll supporting means, and means for rotating said paper drive roller at the same peripheral speed as said printing pressure and ink rollers.

4-. Device according to claim 3 in which said means for rotating said rollers at the same peripheral speed include a gear train consisting of a gear coaxially connected for rotation with each of said pressure printing and ink rollers.

5. Device according to claim 4 in which said paper drive roller is rotatably connected to a pivot arm pivotably connected to said ink reservoir at the axis of rotation of said printing roller and in which said means for rotating said paper drive roller includes a drive belt connecting said paper drive roller for rotation with said printing roller.

6. Device according to claim 5 including a cutter bar positioned in front of and parallel to said printing and pressure rollers.

7. Device according to claim 5 including a cutter blade positioned in front of said pressure and printing rollers laterally movable back and forth substantially parallel thereto, and means for moving said cutter blade.

8. Device according to claim 7 in which said means for rotating said rollers at the same peripheral speed includes an electric motor positioned for rotating said pressure roller.

9. Device according to claim 1 including a tie rod mounted in said support behind, above and substantially parallel to said pressure roller.

10. Device according to claim 1 in which said means for rotating said rollers at the same peripheral speed includes an electric motor.

11. Device according to claim 10 including a time switch for, upon each actuation thereof, operating said motor for a predetermined length of time.

12. Device according to claim 11 including paper cutter means positioned in front of said pressure and printing rollers for cutting actuation substantially parallel thereto, drive means for said paper cutting means, and means for actuating said drive means when said time switch stops said electric motor.

13. Device according to claim 1 including a threaded spindle positioned in front of and substantially parallel to pressure and printing rollers, a blade carrying bug with a threaded bore positioned with said spindle threaded through said bore, and motor means for rotating said threaded spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 835,903 Grant Nov. 13, 1906 2,225,529 Beall Dec. 17, 1940 2,435,369 Sim0nds Feb. 3, 1948 

